Farmington Field Office Visual Resource Management Plan Amendment

The Bureau of Land Management has approved the Farmington Field Office (Field Office) Visual Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment. The Field Office will implement the decision described in the Decision Record for the Amendment. The selected alternative is a combination of elements of Alternatives A and B that were analyzed in the Proposed RMP Amendment/Environmental Assessment (EA). An EA was prepared for the plan amendment in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.

As part of the NEPA process, the Field Office considered the context and intensity of implementing the selected alternative, and issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI concluded that implementation of the selected alternative would not have significant environmental effects, and that the selected alternative did not constitute a major Federal action having a significant effect on the human environment. As a result, an Environmental Impact Statement was not necessary and was not prepared.

The Proposed RMP Amendment was circulated for a 30-day protest period in accordance with 43 CFR 1610.5-2. The protest period began December 17, 2013, and closed on January 16, 2014. Two protest letters were received. The BLM Director determined that the RMP Amendment/EA complies with applicable law, regulation, and policy. No change in the decision was required though some clarification and restatement of facts was suggested and incorporated into the Decision Record. The Director’s Protest Resolution Report can be viewed at http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/planning/planning_overview/protest_resolution/protestreports.html.

The Decision Record and FONSI are available for review in the box to the right.